Christian Businesses and Homosexuals

Q. I’ve been reading news stories about small Christian business owners who have refused to sell their product to a Gay couple who are planning a wedding. Such products could be providing the flowers, baking the cake or taking the pictures during the ceremony/celebration. Is there a Bible verse that would clear up how Christians should respond in this situation? These business owners are being sued and seem to be losing their court cases so it’s also a matter of being put out of business if you refuse a service to a gay couple. Could you give me your perspective on how the Christian should respond if put in such a situation?

A. Personally I have a hard time with this. A Christian business owner will provide his or her services to any other class of nonbelievers, why not to homosexuals? Do they think they’re going to change their customers’ sexual preferences this way? Or persuade them that the God they don’t believe in doesn’t approve of their lifestyle? Certainly homosexuality is a sin, but so is unbelief, or the worship of a false god, and the penalties for these sins are just as bad. Why don’t Christians deny services to these sinners?

And if the customer claims to be a believer, would these business owners also deny their service to other Christians who are living in sin, like those who are adulterers, or have been divorced for a non Biblical reason and now want to get married to someone else?

Selling someone a cake or some flowers doesn’t mean we condone their behavior, and there’s nothing in the Bible that requires a Christian to agree with someone’s beliefs in order to do business with them. It seems to me like these folks are discriminating against a certain class of sinner, while giving others a pass.

our ebooks:

About

gracethrufaith.com is one of the world's most popular Bible study websites, attracting thousands of visitors daily from over 190 countries and territories around the world. We follow a pre-millennial, dispensational interpretation of Scripture and believe the Bible teaches a pre-tribulation rapture, salvation by grace through faith alone, and the eternal security of believers.